Vin put his back to the wall, but hesitated over pulling out the gun he knew Drew didn’t want him to have, especially when Drew gave him a pointed look. “We aren’t a SWAT team, Vin,” Drew said dryly. “Oh. Right.” Vin moved to stand beside Drew. Miranda already stood on the other side.
“You’re going to get a gun, aren’t you.” Drew unlocked the kitchen door as he spoke. “That’s why you wanted to stop at the house before we check out the guys Christina mentioned.” Vin muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, “Dmn right I am,” but when Drew glared at him, he smiled innocuously, then brushed past as he cut through the kitchen. “Better not be,” Drew growled, taking a firm step in the same direction and bumping into Miranda, who […]
Seven pairs of panties, Six bras, one pair if jeans, a denim jacket, two broomstick skirts; was that all the last month of her life amounted to? Christina placed each item in her suitcase with a growing sense of loss. She hadn’t captured either of the O’Connors. If anything, she’d proven she really wasn’t cut out for field work. But she’d also discovered an innate morality she hadn’t realized was important until her job called it into question. Lying, cheating, […]
Drew formed a fist, but managed to keep from pounding on his computer’s keyboard. An oath of an unsavory variety slipped out. Luckily, Ben was at school and everyone else was at work. At least, he thought everyone was at work until Vin tsked at him. “You know, you could always let me take a crack at it. I’m every bit as good with a computer as you are.” He leaned against the doorjamb of the dining room where Drew […]
Ben came out of court firmly established in his mother’s household, considering his father ended up in jail. Suzie, Ben, and Drew are on their way home now. Miranda slammed into the kitchen at a quarter to five. She had her briefcase under one arm, a box of promo materials under the other, her cell phone in her teeth, and no idea what she was going to cook. Pizza? But Ben had said something about not liking pizza anymore. She […]
Dad stood up fast. He had the guilty look to him, the way he swung his head around looking at the floor like he forgot something. The only thing Ben could think was that he’d been the one to cut Mom’s lawyer’s break lines. A cold shiver went down Ben’s back. Until this moment a part of him still believed Dad wouldn’t really hurt him. He wanted to hurt Mom, sure, but to go out of his way to hurt […]
What? Case dismissed? Just like that? Rob gestured to his idiot lawyer, who hadn’t done a single useful thing in course of the entire hearing. So far as Rob was concerned, it was good money down the drain. When he did that thing last night to make sure Suzie wouldn’t have a lawyer, he’d assumed that meant she would be defenseless and he would have the advantage. Instead, he had to pay this idiot and still hadn’t accomplished anything. “I […]
“She doesn’t deserve Ben,” Mr. Hammacker shouted over and over again. “Mr. Hammacker,” Judge Jennifer applied her iciest voice. “It is not a question of who deserves what so much as what is best for the child.” “Well… well…” Mr. Hammacker’s gaze jerked around the room sightlessly. Once he settled on what he wanted to say, he looked quite smug. “It isn’t safe there for Ben.”
Judge Jennifer Armatage steepled her hands before her thoughtfully. She loved her job, despite all the ambiguities. She loved the sense of purpose, the importance of choosing the best path for the salvation of a family or a child. She prided herself on allowing even the youngest child a chance to have his or her say. But how far could she let it go? “Young man, are you saying it is all a conspiracy?” She addressed her question to the […]
“I object!” Ben lurched to his feet next to Suzie. She had to catch his chair to keep it from tipping over. What on Earth did he think he was doing? He glanced around the courtroom, looking painfully unsure of himself. When he spoke again, Suzie almost swallowed her tongue in mortification. “Dad doesn’t want me at all! He’s planning on sending me to Mendota as soon as he gets full custody. I know, because I heard him say it […]
Ben yanked at the knot of his tie and thought about puking. He’d never been so scared of anything as he was of this. He swallowed hard, but that didn’t make it any better. He’d been fine, holding it together, right up until the judge walked into the room.
“Don’t be nervous.” Until Mom said that, Ben was fine. As soon as she tried to brush the hair out of his eyes and straightened his tie, he knew she was nervous, but he only started to feel like an ax or something was hovering over his head when she told him not to be. Then he thought about the fact she’d made him wear his one and only suit, and pulled him from school.
Joseph and Sean a red haired, Irish brothers who live on the edge of the law. Near the beginning of Suzie’s House, Joseph shot Vin to keep him from catching Sean in a planned hit-and-run accident. Much later Sean goes into Suzie’s House where Vin lives intending to kill him and the FBI agent Drew. Suzie drops him by whacking him in the head with a cast iron pan. Now Sean had been captured, but Joseph is still at large. […]
“Ben! Ben, I want to talk to you.” Suzie banged on the door again. She wasn’t sure if she should barge in next or what. He’d never been so slow to call out a welcome before. The door creaked open with the air of a haunted house. Not exactly the welcome she was looking for. She wasn’t about to walk away, so she pushed it the rest of the way open, just in time to see him hop on his […]
“I know! I know! Mom, just leave me alone.” Ben grabbed his papers and books off the kitchen table in a huff. Whatever happened to her care free boy? Suzie hesitated for several seconds while she processed this latest shock. Ever since he came back from his father’s house, Ben had been different, and not in a good way. When he lost his temper, she didn’t know how to handle him. It was like giving up an angel and getting […]